Adrenal Gland - Mineralization

Adrenal gland, Cortex - Mineralization in a male F344/N rat from a chronic study. There are multiple foci of coarsely granular, dark basophilic material in the cortex (arrows).

Figure 1 of 2

Adrenal gland, Cortex - Mineralization in a male F344/N rat from a chronic study (higher magnification of Figure 1). There is a focus of coarsely granular, dark basophilic material in the cortex (arrow).

comment:

Mineralization in the adrenal gland (
Figure 1
and
Figure 2
) in rats and mice is usually the dystrophic form and is a sequela to other lesions, such as necrosis, hemorrhage, or thrombosis. It therefore tends to occur with generally low, sporadic incidences unrelated to treatment. The cortex is more often affected than the medulla.

Mineralization is characterized as variably sized, discrete aggregates of finely to coarsely granular dark basophilic material (
Figure 1
and
Figure 2
) that are scattered through the adrenal parenchyma, often adjacent to or within areas of fibrosis, degeneration, necrosis, hemorrhage, and/or thrombosis.

recommendation:

If mineralization of the adrenal gland occurs as a primary, treatment-related change, it should be diagnosed and assigned a severity grade and site modifier (i.e., cortex, medulla, or capsule). Mineralization that is a feature of another pathologic process (e.g., fibrosis or thrombosis) should not be diagnosed separately, unless warranted by severity.